Most helpful customer reviews

I have been quite satisfied by The Heritage of Shannara.It has turned out to be just as good as the first series,but in some different ways.Finally,everything comes out suspensfully satisfying in the end.Par is definately one of the best characters ever.He has so much conflict within him ,and his love with Damson is so vivid.He developes tons through the series ,as do Walker,Morgan,and Wren. Even though I'm not the greatest fan of fight scenes,I have to say,Walker's struggle with the Four Horsemen is one of the greatest fight scene's in all literature.It's up there with the Fellowship of the Ring's struggle in Moria,with Risca's battle with the Northland Army,with the spectacular Dave Duncan scenes,with all those scenes in Dragonlance.It's truly the most exciting part in the book.I was glad to see that Morgan finally got his girl.After his devastating experience with Quickening,it was nice to see him happy.The Sword of Shannara has been found,the Elves have returned,Walker has become a Druid,all the tasks which Allanon commanded to the Scions of Shannara have been completed.Now Rimmer Dall,leader of the Shadowen plans a fate for each of them.He sets his army against Wren,he sends the Four Horsemen against Walker,and to Par,to Par he sends a fate of terror beyond imagining......................

Let me start off by saying I LOVE Terry Brooks' books. I have been a fan since '77 when 'The Sword of Shannara' came out. With that said, I absolutely loved 'Scions', was a bit disappointed with 'Druid', and thought that 'The Elf Queen' was THE best of the series (bar none). In the opening chapters when Walker is plagued with the problem of being a captive INSIDE Paranor because the Shadowen have brought forth the Four Horsemen to sorta keep an eye on him and make sure he stays there...I felt that Brooks had a PERFECT beginning to a really great series. The way Walker went about defeating them was truly a work of creative art in my opinion. I was really thinking that 'Talismans' was going to out-perform 'Elf Queen' but it seemed as though the ending wrapped up a little too neatly a little too quickly. My reasoning was this: when you have a series of connected novels that span 4 complete books, and they aren't even close to wrapping up the war with the Shadowen with just a hundred pages left in the book...it seemed as though there was too much to finish in such a short amount of time. It just seemed as though Brooks' was writing against a deadline and tied up the loose ends much sooner than it seemed it should have. That isn't to say this book isn't great, but I have to say it ended almost too abruptly for me. Now with that said, read this book no matter what. If you enjoy Fantasy, and a fantasy series in general, do NOT miss out on the 'Heritage of Shannara' it ranks as one of the best in print (flaws notwithstanding). I still think 'Scions' and 'Elf Queen' are the best in the series, but all in all, Terry Brooks has done a great job of giving us all what we want most: a few hours of distraction with a little adventure, magic and intrigue thrown in.

Terry Brooks is my favorite author because, of the authors that I've read, he seems to have the most evil-seeming antagonists. The shadowen in the Hertige of shannara series just reek of evil. A swarming pestilence that surrounds and destroyes all that is virtuous.The Talismans of Shannara is my favorite book period. It is a book of characters getting out of apparently impossible situations and accomplishing their goals. It gives all the other books in the series, (which are admittedly a little disappointing because they don't seem to go anywhere), an endpoint, making the whole adventure complete. Talismans of Shannara is basically a great ending to a great series. It is comparable to the ending in Independance Day or Return of the Jedi. Evil is thwarted, but it WASN't easy. In order to know what's going on I suppose you ought to at least read the other Heritage of Shannara books, but in my opinion, Talismans of Shannara is crowning jewel of the works of Terry Brooks. I'd give it six stars if I could. W.B.R.

I loved this book. The whole story comes to one final end, after 3 books full of running, screaming, and fighting. To date, I haven't had the chance to read The Sword of Shannara or it's sequels; I started with the scions of Shannara, Book 1 of the Heritage of Shannara. The story of the Ohmsfords and Leahs is like a history class to me. But that makes it more exciting, because it puts you more in the place of Par, Coll, and Morgan. All three have magic, created several hundred years ago, and eventually given to them, which they use to defeat the Shadowen. I love that. The whole book is almost like an AD&D adventure; some have magic, some have brute strength, and some have nothing but their wits and a dagger. It makes it really exciting, because the battles and the characters are described excellently. It's so possible to imagine Walker facing off against the four Horsemen, or Coll chasing Par through the wilderness. I love this book, and it's predecessors! I can't wait to get my hands on Sword of Shannara!